“Life-Hacking”
According to definitions I’ve found on the Internet, a “hack” is “a productivity technique used by programmers to solve an everyday problem” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hack). My desire to learn this definition was aroused by a web site I’ve been frequenting lately: LifeHacker.com. Each day there are two or three dozen tips or suggestions on a variety of topics. Occasionally one of them relates to a need I have.
Each day LifeHacker mentions new software programs and apps that others have found useful. There are also odd contributions, such as an item found on today’s edition: “Use plastic wrap to protect furniture or fixtures when painting narrow, hard-to-reach places”. Earlier this week we were told how to bake a turkey and guarantee moist white meat (apply an ice pack to the turkey before baking it – honest!). You never know what you’ll find on LifeHacker, and that’s part of its appeal.
It’s human nature, I suppose, to be interested in better and easier ways of doing things. Who doesn’t appreciate hearing where gasoline can be found at the lowest cost? You know how to get rid of those pesky sugar ants that appear in warm weather? Tell me, please. Whether you call it “life-hacking” or a scoop or whatever, if it will improve the way I live my life, I am seriously interested.
There is no better place to go for life-improvement suggestions than God’s word. God is the One who created us; shouldn’t He be trusted for the best tips on how to live? That’s the claim often made in the word of God.
The wise man made this claim in Proverbs 13:15: “Good understanding gains favor, but the way of the unfaithful is hard.” Have we not seen this principle demonstrated repeatedly? Some think they can enrich themselves by skirting the law, perhaps by selling drugs or scamming unsuspecting folks out of their hard-earned money. But are they truly living a better life? Are they not constantly looking over their shoulders, going from one infraction to another? Many eventually are busted.
Consider another statement in that same passage: “Poverty and shame will come to him who disdains correction, but he who regards a rebuke will be honored” (Proverbs 13:18). Humility and patience are required to learn from our mistakes. Some, though, choose to stubbornly push ahead despite the correction they’re offered, and learn too late that their way just won’t work.
Cain and Abel were brothers, sons of Adam and Eve. When Cain became jealous of his brother’s acceptance by God, his anger burned. God warned Cain about that anger: “If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it” (Genesis 4:7). Cain could have benefited from God’s warning, but he chose to ignore it. In the end, he took his brother’s life and forever after bore the consequences.
Looking for a “hack” for your life? Here’s the best I know: “The thief [Satan] does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I [Jesus] have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). Abundant life! That’s the offer Jesus makes to anyone.
No one is forced to welcome Jesus into their life. But knowing how life is improved when He is Lord should be reason enough to gladly receive Him. (Read Galatians 3:26,27 for a quick statement of how to receive Him.)
Timothy D. Hall